I would like to warn people who might need to mail packages to Europe that the U.S. Postal Service international mailing system is broken.In October, I mailed an item in a “Priority” envelope to Germany, and it never arrived. Only then did I find out there is no way to trace or track it, despite the bar code on the customs label. It was only scanned at the point of origin and nowhere else. Then in December, I had to mail another item, and I was told the safest way was to send it “registered mail,” because it could be tracked every step of the way, because everyone who handled it had to sign for it. I paid extra for insurance also, and that item never arrived. Only then did I find out that it is only tracked within the U.S., and there is no record of it after it was scanned at LAX. Also, I found out that it is only insured to the maximum of $44.86, and you can’t actually insure registered mail for any more than that, even though I was told several times by different people that it was insured for the whole amount, because of the extra I paid for insurance. So, senders, beware. Packages are being stolen in the mail, and if you send anything to a foreign country through the U.S. Postal Service, you do so at your own risk.P. PrichardLos Alamos